Pilot Adjusts Seat, Plane Plummets 7,000 Feet at 26-Degree Angle
Looking for something new to worry about on the plane? How about this: A 25-year-old co-pilot tried to adjust his seat and managed to send his plane, and its 113 passengers, on a 7,000-foot drop at a 26-degree angle.
You know how sometimes when you're driving, and you have to take your sweater off, or move your seat back up a little bit, or whatever? And it's probably sort of dangerous, but you do it anyway? That seems to be what happened with this poor kid, except that instead of a late-90s Kia Sedona with your little brother in the back, it was an actual jet plane, with 113 passengers. CNN has the details:
The co-pilot of an Air India Express 737 sent the jetliner into a terrifying 7,000-foot plunge in May when he accidentally hit the control column while adjusting his seat, investigators report.
According to the report from India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the co-pilot panicked and was unable to execute the proper procedures as the jetliner dropped from 37,000 feet at a 26-degree angle.
I know what you're wondering: Where was the, like, actual pilot on this one? In the bathroom, of course! He was able to right the plane after returning, no doubt soaked in his own urine, and forcing his way into the locked cockpit by using an emergency code. The plane would have broken apart, but luckily no one was hurt, and the jet was undamaged.
And, just to add to your paranoia: The pilot told the passengers it was an "air pocket." So, next time you encounter turbulence and the pilot calls it an "air pocket"—he was probably trying to lean back a little bit.
